


Hugs for Keith

by JenniM777



Series: Keithtober 2019 [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cursing (Young Keith has a potty mouth), M/M, broganes, lots of hugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 05:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21010817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenniM777/pseuds/JenniM777
Summary: Day four of Keithtober - Hugs/Found FamilyA good bit of hugs because lets face it, Keith needs hugs.





	Hugs for Keith

Keith is fourteen the first time someone hugs him after his dad died. He’s a bitter and angry kid who uses his fists instead of words and now some upstart Garrison goody-two-shoes wants to mentor him as if he’s a charity case. He just had another round with Griffin and now Iverson is going off on Keith because of his disciplinary issues. It’s nothing Keith hasn’t heard before so he tunes it out….blah blah blah….lost cause, wasting opportunities and all that other shit. Keith stomps his way across the Garrison and slams the door open before throwing his book bag across the room and slumping into an over soft couch.

“Everything okay?”

Keith looks up to fin Shiro’s roommate, Adam something or another, watching him.

Usually Keith holds his tongue around Adam, not sure how he will react to Keith’s temper. But today, Keith doesn’t care who has a problem with him. Today he’s overflowing with anger.

“Iverson can suck a bag of dicks and that piss head Griffin needs to stop licking Iverson’s boots if he can’t handle getting his ass beat for running his mouth.”

Adam hums thoughtfully but doesn’t give Keith any crap about his choice of words. Instead he hands Keith a hot mug of something.

Keith eyes him warily, “What’s this?”

“Just hot tea. Takashi likes it sometimes when he’s having a bad day.”

Keith stares at the mug then back at Adam, “I’m not having a bad day.”

Adam shrugs, “Okay.”

Keith sips the tea and feels his shoulders start to slump as the tension bleeds out. He’s almost finished when he realizes Shiro is in the small kitchen with Adam. The soft conversation, the sound of pots and pans, and the sizzling of something cooking reminds Keith of something long ago. He doesn’t register that anything is amiss until Shiro is kneeling in front of him, “Keith, are you okay?”

Keith looks up and then back down as something wet splatters on his hand. Another splatter and he’s wiping away wetness on his cheeks and maybe the sentimentality of it all has gotten to him, maybe the half-forgotten memories of his dad cooking in a nearby kitchen is what sends a deep ache to his chest, maybe he really was having a bad day. Before he knows it, Keith is tipping forward and pulled into strong arms and he remembers how good it feels to be hugged.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Keith is eighteen and he’s fighting in a war that was his before he even knew he was part Galra, part of the alien species hell bent on destroying the universe. This rag-tag group of seven has been split up and left to try and figure out how to work together, how to save a castle and a mecha robot that they can barely figure out how to operate. Coran and Hunk are flying out to who knows where to find a crystal to power the castle, Pidge is alone trying to disarm the castle so the Galra can’t use it, Keith is trapped outside with Allura with no way in, and Shiro and Lance are hurt. The odds are stacked against them, against all of them.

He’s not sure why, when all is said and done he doesn’t check on Shiro first. No, his first instinct is to kneel next to Lance, to rake his eyes up and down cataloging his injuries. And he thinks it might be worth it when Lance gives him a cocky smirk and says, “We did it. We are a good team.”

And when Lance loses consciousness, Keith doesn’t hesitate to pull him in his arms into a protective hug and carry him off to be healed. But when Lance denies remembering it, it reignites a hurt long forgotten and Keith doesn’t initiate another hug for a long time.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

The war is finally over. Earth is free from Galra control and slowly starting to rebuild. It’s one of those long days of cleaning and rebuilding where Keith is leaning against a tree when he’s offered a cold drink. He turns and is startled to find Lance’s mama next to him. She smiles softly at Keith, “I’m not sure you realize how grateful I am for you.”

Keith is confused. He’s never interacted with any of Lance’s family, “I’m sorry but I don’t understand.”

Lance’s mama, he thinks her name is Rosa, just pats his cheek, “My boy would have given up on living after Allura. I’ve seen how you talk with him, how you never push too far but just enough. I see every day how you’ve kept him from drowning in his own sorry.”

Keith lets out a sad sigh and looks up at the clouds, “I don’t think you realize just how much it was Lance that was keeping me alive and fighting.”

Rosa tilts her head in confusion, Keith takes a deep breath, “Everything I did out there in space, it was to make sure Lance had a fighting chance to get back to his family, to you. All he talked about was home and you. At one time all I had out there was Shiro. But Lance left Earth, and when he left I think a big part of him was still here with all of you. So I fought. I fought for Lance to come home. I fought because I didn’t want the war to reach Earth and destroy his only reason for living.”

Rosa turns to face Keith head on and grabs his face gently in her hands. She pulls his head down and places a kiss on the crown of his head. She smiles at the look of shock on Keith’s face but he can’t help but feel a little bit pleased at the show of affection, “Lance told me about some of your past; losing your dad, finding your own mama after all this time. But my sweet boy, my sweet rambunctious flirty spontaneous sunshine child told me. He said, ‘mama, if Keith never found his own family I was gonna bring him here. I was gonna let you smother him and feed him and let you give him all the love he ever missed out on by not having a mama. And I was gonna let you do that because there is no better mama than you to show someone as grumpy as Keith just how good it feels to be loved by a mama.’”

Keith knows his mouth is hanging open but he can’t help it. He tries to take a breath but instead he lets out a strangled sob. Rosa reaches up and wipes at Keith’s cheeks, “Oh sweetie, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Keith grasps at Rosa’s hand and shakes his head, “No….you didn’t….I…Lance really said that?”

“He did.”

Keith’s mouth forms a perfect _OH_ and he lets out a soft breath. He stares at Rosa for several minutes before he’s able to finally form a sentence. He swallows hard, “I think I would have liked that very much.”

Rosa has to wipe away a few of her own tears before she pulls Keith in for a hug. She’s a bit shorter than he is so he has to stoop down to fold his arms around her. His head rests on her shoulder and her hug is firm but there’s a softness and a welcoming comfort. Keith melts into her arms and it is absolutely one of the best hugs he’s ever had. He never wants to let go.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Three years later and Keith has tears in his eyes. He won’t deny he’s crying but he’s so happy. He doesn’t remember much up to this point other than he’s staring into a pair of blue eyes that rival the clearest blue ocean, something about a kiss and husbands.

Oh yeah.

He’s is married, he has a husband.

Keith leans in to kiss Lance soft and slow. They press their heads together and Keith whispers softly so that Lance is the only one to hear him, “I love you.”

Lance grins. That beautiful, rambunctious, flirty, spontaneous, sunshine boy grins the most dazzling smile, “I love you too.”

And when they embrace in front of all their friends and family for the first time as husbands, Keith’s only thought is that this is the best hug of his life.  



End file.
